Getting High With Hemp - The GRADO Way

Yes. You read it right. I have hemp. Yes. That hemp. Not to be smoked though. This hemp is part of a Limited Edition headphones by GRADO Labs. Managed to get a hold on a unit a few months ago before the current MCO started. Been using it extensively with either SPL Audio Phonitor 2 or CHORD Mojo DAC amp. 

This hemp is highly compressed by Grado design engineers as one housing together with another maple wood housing. The drivers were specifically tuned to for this design as it is the first time Grado is using hemp. You can read the details spec here.

I will not bore readers talking about the overall design as it comes in a typical Grado leather headbands, detachable ear cups, fixed and thick 8 conductor cable, 3.5 mm jack. The packaging is also as simple as a gift box. No fancy stuff but it worked and came in to Malaysia with no damage or whatsoever. The cable however, gets easily entangled and kind of irritating. I would prefer a woven fabric over the cable. 

Is it comfortable? Compared to my old Alessandro Grado Pro pair, this seems lighter but a bit tighter fit. Well at least for my head. With the current on ear design, I can easily use this continuously for about 1.5 hours before start to feel a bit heavy on the head.

Now, how is the sound? I must admit that I actually miss and regret selling off my Alessandro Grado Pro a few years back under the notion of 'reducing' number of headphones I have. Well, that failed miserably as I own a Beyerdynamic T1, Audeze EL8, Sennheiser HD800S, Nuraphones and countless earphones. Oh well, then I guess its no harm to re-add a Grado headphones to my collection.

THE TRACKS

1. Lawan Kartel 2.0 by Slumber Sonic - 24/44.1 WAV

2. Blue Moon by NYC Quartet -  DSD

3. Can't Stop The Feeling by Justin Timberlake - DSD

4. Take Five by Dave Brubeck - DSD

5. Enter Sandman by Metallica  - 24/96 FLAC

THE SESSION

Iswardy's ferocious guitar on Lawan Kartel 2.0 during the intro really got me going. Followed by thumping snare, toms and floor toms by yours truly, the Hemp presented quite a fully body sound to the tune. The highs can be a little bit on the sharp side but well compensated by the bass. The most evident signature of this Hemp is actually on clarity. The little sounds from our song came out quite clear such the hi hat play and also the bassline from our bassist Herman. Even the second vocal by Azwad was clearly separated  but still complement nicely to Is's vocal. I like what I am hearing through this Hemp.

With Blue Moon, the Hemp sounded sweet with the focus on the vocal. It can sound a little too upfront but its a matter of preference to the listeners. The saxophone sounded airy but at the same time, it can provide that huge spacious sound. The Hemp also is detail in presenting the little details of the wire brush on the snare drum. At times, the highs can sound a little bit sharp but tolerable.

Can it handle bass? I mean disco bass? I put on one of my favourite modern 'joget' tune, Can't Stop The Feeling by Justin Timberlake. And this Hemp made me move head and body to the beat of this tune. It flows. It definitely flows music with ease and made me want to start shaking. Bass was taut and deliver high energy level to listeners. 

How about those extensive low frequency track? Lets put on Take Five by Dave Brubeck. First of all, again the saxophone sounded airy and sweet. Yes, given the open back design does help to sort of unleash a more open listening experience but there is something else coming from this Hemp. The double bass and also the percussion really gave the Hemp quite a workout. Slamming and digs deep without loosing the clarity of the overall track presentation.

Now the ultimate test - metal music! While so many headphones can easily fail delivering the adrenalin, surprisingly the Hemp can really belt it out. No sign of strain and presented this track with full body and energy. I am quite surprise to get this level of fun to listen experience with an open back design. James's vocal sound raw with Kirk's wailing guitar really hit the adrenalin point. Lars's drums you ask? Snare was tight, hi hat was sharp and the bass drum was slamming. 

THE CONCLUSION

A very fun to listen to cans the Hemp is. Not fussy. Easy to drive even with a portable DAC headphone amp such as the Mojo. Even direct connection to my SONY Walkman was fun to listen to.

Is it for everyone? Maybe not but I do feel that it can satisfy most people at this price point. 

Is it for all genres? I do feel so. I even tried it with a death metal track by Deicide. Easy peasy. 

The caveat is however, it might be a bit bright at times but well compensated by the bass coming from this compressed hemp design. On this note, its more of a personal preference.